Studies have shown that humans spend a significant amount of their lives in a seated position. This is a result of many occupations and educational pursuits requiring a person to utilize a desk. Sitting is also a favored position for relaxation. Unfortunately, a seated position is not usually conducive to proper alignment of a person's back, and moderate to serious damage can occur, especially in the lower back, or lumbar region.
One of the most effective ways to decrease the potential for back damage is for a person to follow the old adage “sit up straight”. While sitting up straight is the preferred position for a person seated in a chair, it is often un-comfortable and difficult to maintain for extended periods.
There have been many attempts to remedy this problem. Chairs have been designed that force a person to maintain an up-right sitting position, pads and cushions can be placed on a chair to alter the seating position, and other similar methods have been employed with limited success. One of the few effective means of alleviating this problem is for a person to utilize a device commonly known as a back or lumbar support. A back or lumbar support, as the name implies, provides additional support to a person's lower back region while sitting. Back or lumbar supports are designed in many different ways. There are belts that a person wears, which are similar to weight-lifter's belts, there are L-shaped or circular cushions that are placed on a chair's seat or against a chair's back, and, especially popular with automobile designers, there are internal back support devices that are built into a vehicle seat that can be activated and adjusted as needed.
While some of these devices/methods are more effective than others, they all provide some degree of additional lower back support. One of the drawbacks to many of the most effective supports is that they can only be used on a single chair, such as the internal type, or even though they are not usually large, it is often difficult to transport them and/or use a certain lumbar support with a wide variety of chairs.
Obviously, if there were a lumbar support that was truly portable, that could be transported and stored with ease and that functioned well with many different types of chairs, it would be very beneficial for a large number of people.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED5,954,399HongSep. 21, 19995,413,262Dewire, et alMay 9, 19955,363,863Lelli, et alNov. 15, 1994
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,399 patent discloses a lumbar support designed to be placed against the back support of a vehicle seat. The support includes a wire frame that is attached to the back of the vehicle seat by means of two vertical members. One of the vertical members includes an adjusting knob that sets the tension of the wire frame. Below the wire frame is located a lower back strap that is also attached to the two vertical members. The lower back strap can also be adjusted for tension by means of the adjusting knob.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,262 patent discloses a lumbar supporting belt which includes a wide inner belt and a relatively narrow outer belt. The inner belt extends about the waist of a person and has a middle region that is positioned in the lumbar region of the back. The inner belt is formed of a soft, flexible material which has opposing ends that are releasably connected. The outer belt extends about the waist of a person, overlies the inner belt and has opposing ends corresponding to the opposing ends of the inner belt which are adapted to be placed in proximity to one another. The outer belt is formed of a flexible, non-stretchable material which has opposing ends releasably connected.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,863 patent discloses a lumbar support belt. The belt includes a rear lumbar support piece, a front abdominal support piece, two lateral hip support pieces and a length adjustment means.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search:
U.S. PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED6,270,158HongAug. 7, 20015,567,010SparksOct. 22, 19965,254,065PollockOct. 19, 19934,832,400Aoki, et alMay 23, 19894,313,637BarleyFeb. 2, 1982